Reciprocating vane type rotary pump



Dec. 27, 1966 E. E. FOERSTER ETAL 3,294,454

RECIPROCATING VANE TYPE ROTARY PUMP Filed Sept. 30, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet l I N VEN TORS 2 EUGENE 1?. 1 0525152 WA VA/ T. KEQTm/ M/EZ/ ATTORNEY Dec. 27, 1966 E. E. FOERSTER ETAL RECIPROCATING VANE TYPE ROTARY PUMP 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 30, 1964 i v vvv a ngi ATTOQMEY 1966 E. E. FOERSTER ETAL 3,

RECIPROCATING VANE TYPE ROTARY PUMP Filed Sept. 50, 1964 I 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 El Y IN VEN TORS EUGENE 1; P0525752 145g {ME T- 1450 TING KMW'M k- 7 ATTORNEY Dec. 27, 1966 E. E2. FOERSTER ETAL 3,294,454

RECIPROCATING VANE TYPE ROTARY PUMP Filed Sept. 30, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS EUGENE 17. T0525 T52 1424 VA/E T. REA TIA/C7 ATTORNEY Dec. 27, 1966 E. E. FOERSTER ETAL 3,294,454

' RECIPROCATING VANE TYPE ROTARY PUMP Filed Sept. 30, 1964 e Sheets-Sheet s Eve-EN E. Fos/zs'rse WAD/NE T HEAT/N61 'INVENTORS ATTOQNEY Dec. 27, 1966 E. E. FOERSTER ETAL 3,

RECIPROCATING VANE TYPE ROTARY PUMP Filed Sept. 50, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 ELQALL Euc-sEA/E I, FOEQSTEE We YA/E T. KEQT/Ne INVENTORS ATTOIZN E Y United States Patent 0 RECIPRUCATING VANE TYPE ROTARY PUMP Eugene E. Foerster, Los Angeles, (Ialif. (6616 Farr-alone,

Canoga Park, Calif. 91303), and Wayne 'I. Keating,

Los Angelles, Calif. (6550 .lurriilla, Woodland Hills,

Calif. @1364) Filed Sept. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 400,523 8 Claims. (Ci. 302-14) This invention relates to pumps and more particularly to a cam operated, vane type, positive displacement fluid pump, which is particularly adapted for use in connection with concrete or other high density abrasive materials.

The pumping of solids suspended in liquid presents a problem in that intake and outlet valves normally associated with pumps, such as the piston type for example, become clogged with the solid material, so that the closure of the valves in order to obtain the proper pumping pressures is not possible. Typical solids in liquid suspension include concrete, slurry, pastes, plasters, rock aggregates, coal, soil, chemicals having a slurry nature, food products, vegetables, grains, sugars, petroleum products, low viscosity liquids, including heavy syrups, sand, asphalt and the like.

In addition to clogging and sticking valves in certain types of pumps, the viscous fluids are usually abrasive and cause undue wearing of both moving and stationary parts. Further-more, they may cause structural failure from fatigue or overloading due to inertial effects, or by jamming of gravel or rocks in a concrete mix for example.

Briefly stated, one preferred embodiment of the pump in accordance with the present invention consists of an outer drum and a coaxially mounted inner drum with suitable intake and outlet openings to the annular chamber formed therebetween. A series of radially extending vanes are positioned between these drum surfaces to divide the chamber into compartments, and as the vanes are rotated they push the material forward in the compartment ahead. As the compartment approaches the outlet opening, the vanes are withdrawn and a diverter defleets the material being pumped into the outlet opening. When the vane has passed the outlet opening it is again extended radially across the space between the inner and outer drums to form the back wall of a new compartment passing under the inlet opening to receive more of the material being pumped.

In one embodiment the outer drum is fixed and has inlet and outlet openings in its cylindrical side. The inner drum is rotatably mounted coaxially with the outer drum and is somewhat smaller in diameter to form an annular chamber between its outer surface and the inner surface of the outer drum. A series of radially disposed vane guides within said inner drum, communicating at their outer ends with the annular chamber, have vanes slideably mounted in each guide. Cam followers are fastened to these vanes, and a cam guide is mounted on the inner face of each of the disc-shaped side plates on the housing of the outer drum. The cam guides are adapted to engage the cam followers to extend the vanes across the annular chamber between the drums and to withdraw the vanes at the proper time. A wedge-shaped deflector or diverter is mounted on the inner surface of the outer drum and engages the outer surface of the inner drum to divert the liquid being pumped, such as concrete, into the discharge opening. In operation the plane of rotation of the inner drum may be vertical and the intake opening could be at or near the top of the outer drum. Concrete in a fluid state is poured through the intake opening into the portion of the annular chamber cut off by two adjacent vanes which are fully exended and in contact with the cylindrical inner surface of the outer drum. As the inner drum rotates, the next following vane is extended outwardly under the influence of the carnming mechanism, until its outer end forms a seal with the inner wall of the outer drum. When the chamber created between this pair of vanes has rotated to a position near the outlet opening, the camming mechanism withdraws the leading vane, so that the charge of concrete in the chamber is driven toward the diverter wedge by the following vane. The combined action of the advancing vane and the wedge, which acts as a seal within the chamber, displaces the concrete and forces it out the outlet opening with sufiicient force to propel it through the conventional conduit means. Since each adjacent pair of vanes operates in the manner described, a continuous How of concrete is pumped, as long as a constant source of the fluid concrete is supplied to the inlet opening.

In another embodiment, the drum rotation is in a horizontal plane, the outer drum rotates and the inner drum has the inlet and outlet ports communicating with the chamber formed between the two drums. The vanes are cam actuated to move vertically into and out of the chamber at the appropriate times. In this embodiment, the vanes move axially or transversely with respect to the plane of the drums rotation. In another similar embodiment the vanes are mounted around the periphery and are cam actuated to move radially in and out of the fluid path within the chamber. In all modifications the vane is removed from the flow path before the solids suspended in liquid being pumped therethrough is diverted to the output and is restored to its moving position before it reaches the input opening to receive. another loan therefrom to be pumped.

It will be noted that in all forms of the subject invention sealing means are provided to insure that little or none of the abrasive and potentially destructive material being pumped comes in contact with adjacent moving surfaces. Thus the vanes, vane guides, inner and outer drums, cam guides and followers, side plates, diverter surfaces are protected from the wearing effects of continuous contact with the pumped material. In practice, the provision of such seals permits the lubrication of all moving parts and bearing surfaces of the pump and its elements whether greases, oils or other lubricants .vvithout concern that they may be diluted or worn away by the pumped material. This aspect of the subject invention constitutes a substantial advance over the present art.

For a more complete description and better understanding of the invention reference is now had to the drawings wherein FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of one embodiment with the front cover plate broken away to illustrate the internal construction;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 in the FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of another embodiment with parts broken away to better illustrate its operation;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional View taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view showing the cam operation of the vanes;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 77 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of another embodiment with parts broken away to show its operation;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view, with portions shown in elevation, and taken along the line 9-9 in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a transverse sectional view of one modification of the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3; and

FIGURE 11 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 11--11 of FIGURE 10.

Referring now to the embodiment shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3, there is shown a fixed outer drum 10 having an inlet opening or hopper 12, through which the concrete slurry is fed for pumping, and a discharge opening 14 to which will be attached conventional conduit means not shown. Fixed outer drum 10 includes an annular ring 16 with a wear-resistant inner liner 18 sandwiched between back cover plate 20 and front cover plate 22. Only a fragmentary portion of the front cover plate 22 is shown so that the internal structure may be seen.

An inner drum 24 is rot-atably mounted coaxially within the outer drum and is somewhat smaller in diameter. An annular chamber 26 is thus formed between the outer surface 28 of the inner drum 24 and the wear-resistant liner 18 of the outer drum 10. A series of radially extending vane guides 30 communicate at their outer ends with the annular chamber 26. Vanes 32 have a length and width to fill the cross-sectional area of chamber 26 when extended therein, and are slideably mounted on guide rods 34 within the vane guides 30. Vane guides 30 are secured at their outer ends to the outer surface 28 of the rotatable inner drum 24 and at their inner ends to hub 36. Guide rods 34 are also connected at their inner end to the hub 26. Suitable packing means 38 which may be rubber, felt, plastic, wood, leather or other resilient compressible O-rings for example, effectively seals the. outer ends of the vane guides 30 with respect to the vanes 30 and effectively wipes the vanes 30, when they are drawn inwardly.

A retracting cam 40 and an extending earn 42, in the configuration shown, are suitably mounted to the back plate 20 and similar cams are mounted to the front plate 22. Cam follower rollers 44 are connected to vanes 32 and are adapted to roll on the inner surface of retracting cam 40 and the outer surface of extending cam 42, which, because of their eccentric configuration, will move the vanes 32 out into the area of the chamber 26 or withdraw the vanes inwardly as desired. The configuration of these cam surfaces are such that the vanes are radially extended as they rotate counter-clockwise past the intake opening 12 and continue to remain extended until they approach the discharge opening 14. A wedge shaped deflector or diverter 46 is mounted on the inner face of the outer drum 10 to divert the viscous fluid being pumped into the discharge opening 14.

In operation, concrete in the fluid state is poured through the intake opening 12 into the portion of the annular chamber between the radially extending vanes that have been extended in contact with the inner surface of the outer drum. As the inner drum rotates, the next following vane is extended outwardly under the influence of the camming mechanism until its outer end forms a seal with the inner wall of the outer drum. When the compartment created between this pair of vanes has rotated to a position near the outlet opening, the camming mechanism withdraws the leading vane, so that the charge of concrete in the compartment is driven toward the wedge by the following vane. The combined action of the advancing vane and the wedge, which acts as a seal within the chamber, displaces the concrete and forces it out the outlet opening with sufiicient force to propel it through the conventional conduit means. Since each adjacent pair of vanes operates in the manner just described, a continuous flow of concrete is provided.

.In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 4, 5, 6 and 7, the pumping of fluid is done on a horizontal plane. As shown in FIGURE 4, hopper, or inlet 48, is positioned on top of housing 49 and communicates with the pumping chamber 54 through the inlet 50 shown in FIGURE 7. Outlet 52 communicates with the pumping chamber 54 from the underside as shown in FIGURES and 6. Spaced about the annular channel 54 are a plurality of vanes 56 adapted to rotate clockwise on a suitable structure shown in FIGURE 7 for this purpose. A drive gear 58 upon rotation causes movement of trackway 60 which causes outer ring 62 to revolve. Suitable channel guides 64 and 66, with rollers 68, 70, 72 and 74 are attached to the outer wall 62, and adapted to rotate therewith are the' vanes 56 of suitable length and width to fill the cross section of the annular channel 54. Vane guide housings 76 extend upwardly and are adapted to receive the vanes 56 when drawn upwardly therein. Vane guides 78 have springs 80 positioned therearound. The actuation of vanes 56 into and out of the pumping channel 54 is illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 6. Here cam guides 82 urge vane 56 upwardly and out of the flow path as the vane moves from left to right. A suitable deflector member 84 diverts the flow of concrete into outlet 52 for conveyance through suitable conduit means to its destination.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 8 and 9 the inner drum is integrally formed with a base 92. An outer ring 94 is adapted to revolve with a large gear 95 driven by a chain 96 connected to a power source (not shown). Axially spaced about the outer ring are inwar-dly extending radial vanes 98, which move into the annular flow channel 100 between the inner drum and outer ring upon rotation prior to passing the position where concrete enters from the input hopper 102. An annular, eccentric, cam guide 104 with a plurality of spaced cam followers having rollers 106 and 108 positioned on each side of the cam 104 control the radial movement of the vanes 98 by retracting and extending the vanes at the proper times. The eccentric portion of the cam guide 104 is positioned near the output opening 110 for the purpose of retracting the vanes 98 from the flow channel 100 at that point. Suitable diverter means 112 is positioned in the annular flow channel 100 adjacent output openings 110. Cam ring 104 is suitably mounted to base 92 by means of cam mounting brackets 114.

One modification of the viscous fluid pump of FIG- URES l, 2 and 3 is illustrated in FIGURES 10 and 11, wherein the inner drum or rotor 122 is rigidly mounted on a drive shaft 124. Within the rotor 122 a plurality of pairs of radial webs 126 are rigidly secured to the drive shaft 124 at their inner ends and to the annular rotor shoe 128 at their outer ends.

The adjustable vane guides 130 are mounted between each pair of webs 126 and include annular rings 132 and 134 secured to webs'126, as shown at the bottom of FIGURE 11. The vane guides 130 also include resilient vane seals 136, 138, and 142 contacting the vanes 144 on all four edges with resilient fingers. These seals may be made of rubber, neoprene or any similar material.

A vane seal compressor bar 146 maintains the seals in tight engagement with the vanes 144 by means of adjusting screws 148 and 150 extending through the cross bar 152, which also has a rectangular opening therethrough for guiding the vanes 144.

The vanes 144 are slidably mounted on radial-guide rods 154 which engage extending springs 156 mounted in a bore 158 in vanes 144 for resiliently urging the vanes radially outward into contact with a hard, abrasion resistant, cylindrical liner 160 in the outer drum 162. The annular rings 132 and 134 together with liner 160 and a rotor shoe 164 define the annular chamber 166 through which the concrete or other fluid is pumped.

The annular rings 132 and 134, which rotate with the inner drum or rotor 122, are lubricated and sealed by means of the side plate seals 168 held in place by seal retainers 170, both of which are provided with aligned ports 172 and 174 communicating with inlet 176.

Extending cam 178, shown in phantom in FIGURE 10, is mounted on side plate of outer drum 162 and retracting cam 182 is mounted on the opposite side plate 184. Cam followers 186 on vanes 144 engage cam 178 to move the vanes 144 radially outward into contact with the liner 160 and cam followers or rollers 188 contact retracting cam 182 to retract the vanes 144 as they move past the discharge opening 190 and over the diverter 192. Diverter block 192 is adjustably mounted in a block guide 194 by a block lock 196. The block 192 may be made of a wear resistant rubber composition and is resiliently urged against the rotor shoe 164 by a spring 198. Block seals 202 and 204 may be provided to prevent leakage past the block 192.

The fixed outer drum 162 is preferably formed in two half sections with the semicircular side plates 180 and 184 secured to a two piece annular channel 206 having a backing ring 208 held by screws 210 and bonded to liner 169. The two sections are mounted on a hinge pin 212, so that the pump may be readily opened to facilitate cleaning and repairs, and are secured at the top by locking means 213 with a .seal 214. A rubber seal may also be provided at 215.

In this modification, the inlet hopper 216 is located lower down on the side of outer drum 162, and preferably includes a rotary blender 218 with a plurality of staggered fingers 220 which mix and urge the concrete or other fluid into the annular chamber 166.

Having thus described several illustrative embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that such embodiments are illustrative only and that the invention is not limited thereto. Other modifications and alterations will occur to those skilled in the art and it is intended that these variations be considered as part of the present invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A reciprocating vane rotary pump comprising: an inner rotor having a hub with a plurality of pairs of radial webs forming radial channels, a guide rod extending radially from said hub into each of said channels, a vane slidably mounted on each of said guide rods and resilient means urging said vanes outwardly, a vane guidemounted between each pair of webs adjacent the outer ends thereof and including resilient sealing means engaging said vanes, means for compressing said sealing means, and a cylindrical shoe mounted around the periphery of said rotor and having spaced openings through which said vanes extend;

an outer drum and housing having a wear resistant cylindrical liner spaced from said cylindrical shoe to form an annular passage, said housing having circular side plates, an extending cam mounted on one of said side plates, a retracting cam mounted on the other of said side plates, said housing also having an inlet passage and an outlet passage communicating with said annular passage, and a diverter block between said inlet and outlet;

each of said vanes having roller cam followers engaging said extending and retracting cams said cams being shaped to retract said vanes out of said annular pass-age prior to movement past said outlet and diverter block, and then extend said vanes across said passage prior to movement past said inlet.

2. A reciprocating vane rotary pump comprising:

an inner rotor having a hub with a plurality of pairs of radial webs forming radial channels, a guide rod extending radially from said hub into each of said channels, a vane slidably mounted on each of said guide rods and resilient means urging said vanes outwardly, a vane guide mounted between each pair of webs adjacent the outer ends thereof and including resilient sealing means engaging said vanes, means for compressing said sealing means, and a cylindrical shoe mounted around the periphery of said rotor and having spaced openings through which said vanes extend;

an outer drum and housing have a wear resistant cylindrical liner spaced from said cylindrical shoe to form an annular passage, said housing having circular side plates, an extending cam mounted on one of said side plates, a retracting cam mounted on the other of said side plates, said housing also having an inlet passage and an outlet passage communicating with said annular passage, and a diverter block between said inlet and outlet;

each of said vanes having roller cam followers engaging said extending and retracting cams said cams being shaped to retract said vanes out of said annular passage prior to movement past said outlet and diverter block, and then extend said vanes across said passage prior to movement past said inlet;

said housing being formed in two separate half sections which are hinged at one point on their periphery and securely fastened at an opposite point to facilitate cleaning and repair.

3. A reciprocating vane rotary pump comprising:

an inner rotor having a hub with a plurality of pairs of radial webs forming radial channels, a guide rod extending radially from said hub into each of said channels, a vane slidably mounted on each of said guide rods and resilient means urging said vanes outwardly, a vane guide mounted between each pair of webs adjacent the outer ends thereof and including resilient sealing means engaging said vanes, means for compressing said sealing means, and a cylindrical shoe mounted around the periphery of said rotor and having spaced openings through which said vanes extend;

an outer drum and housing having a wear resistant cylindrical liner spaced from said cylindrical shoe to form an annular passage, said housing having circular side plates, an extending cam mounted on one of said side plates, a retracting cam mounted on the other of said side plates, said housing also having an inlet passage and an outlet passage communicating with said annular passage, and a diverter block between said inlet and outlet;

each of said vanes having roller cam followers engaging said extending and retracting cams said cams being shaped to retract said vanes out of said annular passage prior to movement past said outlet and diverter block, and then extend said vanes across said passage prior to movement past said inlet;

said housing having an inlet hopper with a rotary blender having a plurality of staggered fingers adjacent said inlet passage.

4. A reciprocating vane r-otary pump comprising:

an inner rotor having a hub with a plurality of pairs of radial webs forming radial channels, a guide rod extending radially from said hub into each of said channels, a vane slidably mounted on each of said guide rods and resilient means urging said vanes outwardly, a vane guide mounted between each pair of webs adjacent the outer ends thereof and including resilient sealing means engaging said vanes, means for compressing said sealing means, and a cylindrical shoe mounted around the periphery of said rotor and having spaced openings through which said vanes extend;

an outer drum and housing having a wear resistant cylindrical liner spaced from said cylindrical shoe to form an annular passage, said housing having circular side plates, an extending cam mounted on one of said side plates, a retracting cam mounted on the other of said side plates, said housing also having an inlet passage and an outlet passage communicating with said annular passage, and a diverter block between said inlet and outlet;

each of said vanes having roller cam followers engaging said extending and retracting cams said cams being shaped to retract said vanes out of said annular passage prior to movement past said outlet and diverter block, and then extend said vanes across said passage prior to movement past said inlet;

means for resiliently urging said diverter block into contact with said rotors cylindrical shoe, and means for adjusting.

5. A reciprocating vane type rotary pump comprising:

an outer drum,

a coaxially mounted inner drum of smaller diameter than said outer drum forming an annular chamber therebetween,

a plurality of radial vane guides spaced within said inner drum,

a radially disposed guide rod associated with each of said vane guides,

openings in said inner dr-um associated with each of said vane guides,

vanes slidably mounted on each of said guide rods for reciprocating motion in said vane guides through said openings,

an inlet and an outlet communicating with said chamber,

means moving said vanes along said chamber between said inlet and said outlet, and

means withdrawing said vanes from said chamber during movement thereof from said outlet to said inlet.

6. A pump as defined in claim having cam means operable to withdraw said vanes from said chamber during movement thereof from said outlet to said inlet.

7. A reciprocating vane type rotary pump comprising:

a fixed outer drum,

a rotatable coaxially mounted inner drum,

a front and back cover defining an annular chamber between said drums,

an inlet and an outlet communicating with said chamher,

a plurality of radial vane guides spaced within said inner drum,

a radially disposed guide rod associated with each of said vane guides,

openings in said inner drum associated with each of said vane guides,

vanes slidably mounted on each of said guide rods for reciprocating motion in said vane guides through said openings, and

I cam means operable to move said vanes into said chamber prior to rotation thereof past said inlet and to retract said vanes from said chamber prior to rotation thereof past said outlet.

8. A reciprocating vane type rotary pump comprising:

a fixed outer drum,

a rotatable coaxially mounted inner drum,

a front and back cover defining an annular chamber between said drums,

an inlet and an outlet communicating with said chamber,

a plurality of radial vane guides spaced within said inner drum,

a radially disposed guide rod associated with each of said vane guides,

openings in said inner drum associated with each of said vane guides,

vanes slidably mounted on each of said guide rods for reciprocating motion in said vane guides through said openings,

cam followers on each of said vanes, and

cams positioned on said front and back covers to cooperate with said cam followers extending said vanes into said chamber prior to their rotation past said inlet and retracting said vanes therefrom prior to their rotation past said outlet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 115,254 5/1871 Tenant. 1,686,532 10/ 1928 Ronning. 1,698,235 1/ 1929 Mathis. 2,555,678 6/ 1951 Cornwell.

ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A RECIPROCATING VANE ROTARY PUMP COMPRISING: AN INNER ROTOR HAVING A HUB WITH A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF RADIAL WEBS FORMING RADIAL CHANNELS, A GUIDE ROD EXTENDING RADIALLY FROM SAID HUB INTO EACH OF SAID CHANNELS, A VANE SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID GUIDE RODS AND RESILIENT MEANS URGING SAID VANES OUTWARDLY, A VANE GUIDE MOUNTED BETWEEN EACH PAIR OF WEBS ADJACENT THE OUTER ENDS THEREOF AND INCLUDING RESILIENT SEALING MEANS ENGAGING SAID VANES, MEANS FOR COMPRESSING SAID SEALING MEANS, SAND A CYLINDRICAL SHOE MOUNTED AROUND THE PERIPHERY OF SAID ROTOR AND HAVING SPACED OPENINGS THROUGH WHICH SAID VANES EXTEND; AN OUTER DRUM AND HOUSING HAVING A WEAR RESISTANT CYLINDRICAL LINER SPACED FROM SAID CYLINDRICAL SHOE TO FORM AN ANNULAR PASAGE, SAID HOUSING HAVING CIRCULAR SIDE PLATES, AN EXTENDING CAM MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID SAIDE PLATS, A RETRACTING CAM MOUNTED ON THE OTHER OF SAID SIDE PLATES, SAID HOUSING ALSO HAVING AN INLET PASSAGE AND AN OUTLET PASSAGE COMMUNICATING WITH SAID TUBULAR PASSAGE, AND A DIVERTER BLOCK BETWEEN SAID INLET AND OUTLET; EACH OF SAID VANES HAVING ROLLER CAM FOLLOWERS ENGAGING SAID EXTENDING AND RETRACTING CAMS SAID CAMS BEING SHAPED TO RETRACT SAID VANES OUT OF SAID ANNULAR PASSAGE PRIOR TO MOVEMENT PAST SAID OUTLET AND DIVERTER BLOCK, AND THEN EXTEND SAID VANES ACROSS SAID PASSAGE PRIOR TO MOVEMENT PAST SAID INLET. 